A Resolve Unbroken
by InvincibleEnigma
Summary: A possible version of the fight between Soifon and Aizen after chapter 389. Soifon's relationship with Omaeda is also explored. Reviews appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

**A Resolve Unbroken**

Soifon sped off to face Aizen with a look of grim determination on her face. She heard her lieutenant say something but chose to ignore it. Halfway there, she found him by her side. So he wasn't a coward after all.

"Taichou, should you be fighting?" he asked. "We have enough reinforcements now." She was still sweating heavily, the only visible sign that she was in pain.

"This is Aizen," she replied, as if it were obvious. "Everyone has to fight."

He knew her mind was made up. "What do you want me to do?"

"Split up. Wait for an opportunity to strike."

I know what you're asking me to do, Omaeda thought. But I won't do it. "Got it," he said, belying his intentions.

"And Omaeda," she glanced at him briefly, "be careful, Aizen is no ordinary opponent."

Such displays of concern were rare, and he treasured the moment.

The second division captain aimed a diagonal slash at Aizen's exposed side. Predictably, he turned and blocked it without missing a beat.

"I commend you on attacking me in this condition, Soifon taichou," Aizen mocked. "But what is it you think you can achieve?"

Soifon neglected to answer, instead choosing to flip over his head and come back with a reverse low strike.

Aizen blocked this too. "You have excellent balance. That's a hard move to execute with one arm," he complimented her.

Hitsugaya, Komamura and most of the vizard were already down. Not a good sign, she thought. Kyoraku's kido spell met a barrier and reflected on him. The resulting cloud provided some cover as she attempted to stab the ex-captain in the stomach. Instead, Aizen appeared suddenly on her left.

"Not up to your usual speed, Soifon taichou," he deliberately laid a heavy hand on her injured shoulder, "but I guess that's to be expected given the circumstances."

She fought hard not to give him the satisfaction of seeing her flinch. "Did that hurt?" he asked innocently. "I've never lost a limb, so I wouldn't know."

A backwards thrust of her sword revealed he was just out of reach. As if in response, his fingers squeezed tightly, and this time she winced. Aizen smiled sadistically, before delivering a side strike to her ribs. Without her left arm, she had no way to block it, and was sent flying into a nearby building.

Blood poured from her mouth as she extricated herself from the rubble. Damn it, she thought, some of my ribs are broken. It took a lot of effort to keep the additional pain at bay. But she quickly took off for the fight again, her resolve never wavering.

"Back for more?" Aizen teased. "I wouldn't have expected any less of you."

A different strategy was called for. Soifon sheathed her sword and waited. Aizen raised an eyebrow. Then he too sheathed his sword.

"That's awfully brave of you." Their eyes met. "You must think your hakuda is much better than mine."

The stealth force commander smirked, drawing him in. "Hand-to-hand combat is my strength."

It worked. Aizen aimed a punch at her solar plexus, which was easily brushed away. She jumped on his outstretched arm and went for his eyes. As expected, he caught her hand easily.

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that one."

Even as he twisted her only arm behind her back, she kicked backwards at his chin. This forced him to lean back to avoid it and she used the resulting momentum to break free. In the split second it took him to recover, Soifon aimed a deadly spear hand at his chest. At the last instant he sidestepped and turned the tables with a vicious kick that connected with the remaining portion of her left arm.

Excruciating pain notwithstanding, this was the moment she had been waiting for. A kick mandated a certain recovery time, which could be exploited. Now if only the fool would take advantage of his opportunity. She closed her eyes in preparation for the hard impact. Instead there was something soft holding her. Not who I wanted to see, her eyes told her.

"Omaeda!" she yelled. "What are you doing? Why didn't you attack him? I created that opportunity for you!"

His look of concern became one of fear. "Taichou…"

"Surely you must know, Soifon taichou," Aizen sauntered over. "Omaeda is loyal to a fault. He wouldn't attack me if he couldn't be sure of your safety." The corners of the traitor's mouth curled sadistically. "You thought he would follow your orders, not his heart. That was your mistake." Soifon's expression changed from one of anger to defeat.

The ruler of Hueco Mundo stepped closer. "And now it's over. Look at your captain, Omaeda. She can barely stand."

Omaeda reluctantly turned his attention to the woman in his arms. Much of her weight rested against him, something she would never willingly allow. Her breathing was labored and pain was written on her face. He could even feel her shaking.

"Time to give up." Aizen raised his sword. "Your comrades have been defeated, and you are ready to collapse."

As much as he hated to admit it, Omaeda knew Aizen was right. "Taichou…" he began.

Surprisingly, Soifon shoved him against the wall and stood on her own. "I'm going to fight," she declared.

This was why Omaeda respected her. "I'll fight by your side," he promised. This time she didn't bother to dispute the strategy.

Activated as a last resort, Soifon's shunko blazed brilliantly in the blue sky. She attacked Aizen furiously.

"Soifon taichou," Aizen's look of concern was almost genuine, "are you sure you can spare the reiatsu for that?"

She was beyond words now. To Omaeda, the captain was a blur of motion that struck and countered, blocked and parried. He guarded her exposed left side as best he could without getting blown away by her shunko.

Soifon had Aizen on the defensive with her barrage, and she managed to score a hit with an unrelenting elbow. She even blocked several attacks to her left side with shunko alone, something she'd never been able to do before. However, this wasn't something she could do all day with her current energy reserves. Aizen appeared to be tiring too, and when she spotted a lapse in concentration, she went for it.

As Aizen placed his left leg for power, she planted her own leg on top of his. Using the full range of possible rotation, she executed a 360° turning kick. Combined with shunko, this kick had the power to take off the traitor's head if it connected. Just when it looked like it might work, Aizen seemed to melt to the side and disappear. Was that his shikai?

"No, Shaolin," he whispered in her ear, "you were just too slow."

She landed somewhat off balance, and looked wildly around. Where was he? Finally she spotted Aizen out of the corner of her eye. Unfortunately her legs refused to move.

Her subordinate rushed toward her as Aizen spoke, "You may be loyal to her, Omaeda. But does Soifon taichou care whether you live or die?"

The lieutenant's momentary hesitation was enough for Aizen to smash the hilt of his sword against Soifon's left shoulder, shattering her collarbone, and sending her to the ground in agony.

Omaeda stood there in shock as Aizen's words hit home. It was true, wasn't it? He didn't know the answer.

"She says this war is a good chance for you to die. You think she's joking, but how do you know? Maybe she's telling the truth," the former captain suggested. "If you die, she gets to pick a proper lieutenant without offending your family. They'll keep supplying her division with money." Those deceptively warm eyes found his. "If you think about it, that's the only reason she put up with you all this time."

"Why not use this opportunity to get a captain who'll treat you right?" Aizen kicked Soifon so she was lying facedown. "If you don't interfere with me, I'll let you live." It was a seductive suggestion that alleviated his fear.

"You pose no danger to me anyway."

Things might have turned out very different if a battered Shunsui Kyoraku hadn't stepped in front of Omaeda. "Enough of your lies, Aizen." Kyoraku charged, forcing the traitor to abandon his attempt to kill Soifon. The lieutenant blinked.

"Omaeda," Kyoraku commanded. "Help Captain Soifon, her reiatsu is dangerously low."

Omaeda shook his head as if to cast Aizen's lies out of his mind. How could he have considered letting Soifon die? He rushed to her side. She was barely conscious and didn't seem to be moving.

"Taichou, can you hear me?" A barely perceptible nod.

"Can you get up?" No response.

He turned her over gently, trying to avoid touching her left arm. "I'll carry you," he whispered.

A moment later Omaeda had his captain cradled in his arms. His feet automatically took him to the best healer he knew. When Unohana saw him, she moved away from Hiyori.

"Put her here, Omaeda fukutaichou." The fourth division captain released her zanpakuto, something she only did in serious situations.

A nasty little voice chose that moment to speak up. Soifon wants you to die here. Should you be saving her?

Ever the perceptive one, Unohana noticed this, "Omaeda fukutaichou, is something wrong?"

"No," he replied, unwilling to divulge such treasonous thoughts.

"Soifon taichou is asking for you."

"Come here," she added, when he didn't move.

Somewhat reluctantly, he came closer. "You'll have to kneel," Unohana insisted. "She's very weak."

Soifon was so tired, she just wanted to sleep. But there was something she had to do first. Something important. "Omaeda," she whispered several times.

There were some other noises and then finally his voice. "I'm here, taichou."

She took a deep breath. "I heard everything…Aizen said." Omaeda flinched at this. "I wanted…to say something then…but I…couldn't speak."

"It's not…true. I don't…want you to die." Her right hand inched towards him, reaching desperately for human contact. "You are my…lieutenant." She felt his fingers squeeze her hand delicately.

"Ever since…Yoruichi left…I didn't want…to get close…to my squad." These words cost her dearly. There was something wet on her face. Was she crying?

"In case…they left…I would be…hurt." She shut her eyes. "Forgive…me."

Omaeda had been waiting for this moment ever since he became a lieutenant. For Soifon to say he was more than a punching bag or a money source. But he didn't want it to happen like this.

"Unohana taichou," he screamed. "Is she okay?"

"I have to begin treating her now," Unohana said calmly. "Please step back."

He watched helplessly as Unohana lifted Soifon into Minazuki's open mouth. The healer patted her zanpakuto's head and it swallowed Soifon's broken body.

"Don't worry, Omaeda fukutaichou," she reassured him. "I'll take care of her."


	2. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The atmosphere in the second division was somber. Many squad members were lost without their captain. But no one wanted to disturb the vice captain.

For his part, Omaeda sat quietly at the captain's desk doing paperwork. There had been no time for rice crackers ever since the war. It was only now that he realized how much work went into running a division, and the sheer effort of holding everything together had caused him to lose weight. Some might have argued this was a good thing.

After sorting the completed paperwork into neat columns, he consulted his watch. At last, it was time for the dreaded funeral. Some things, no matter how undesirable, could not be missed.

Donning his formal dress, he remembered all the experiences they had shared. Of course, these memories inevitably ended with the captain's death. He sighed. If he thought about it any more, the floodgates would open prematurely.

The mirror revealed an older man, worn by the days and by his worries. Times had been tough, and fortune did not always favor the victors. Not everyone could survive.

It was war, he told himself, and there were always casualties. But somehow he felt responsible. As if acting differently would have altered reality.

Now he trained diligently as never before. Paperwork was no obstacle either. It was either misdirected atonement or the genuine desire for betterment. He didn't know.

And yet all the training and devotion in the world couldn't change who he was.

A coward.

True fears were always nebulous and insidious, rendering themselves immutable to corrective action or reasonable dispute.

Mindless wandering eventually brought him to Sokyoku Hill where the remaining captains and vice captains were already in line. Everyone had injuries of their own.

Except him.

Guilt was not a pleasant feeling. It churned your insides and gnawed at your conscience.

"Move," a harsh voice shattered his reverie, "you're in my way."

Omaeda turned to give whoever it was a piece of his mind, but stopped short.

It was Captain Soifon.

Her complexion was paler than usual and she was sweating from the exertion of being upright. A sling immobilized her left arm and she leaned on Hanataro for support.

Studying her for a moment, he realized that even injured and exhausted, she was exactly who he needed to see. Someone whose presence wouldn't permit undue rumination. Maybe her punishments had always served this purpose; he just never realized it until now.

"I didn't think you'd be able to come," Omaeda said, barely able to contain a grin.

"I'm tired of lying around in the fourth division," Soifon said scornfully.

Unohana's glare made her suddenly contrite. "I mean, Unohana taichou gave me permission to come." Her expression became serious. "I had to be here."

"I'm glad you're okay," he responded earnestly, moving out of her way.

"Thank you." She was sincere, and there was warmth in her eyes he had never seen before.

The universe regained a semblance of natural order as she stepped in front of him to make a line with the remaining captains.

And the service for Shunsui Kyoraku began.


End file.
